Adam on the Web

When I introduced the CogBlog the other day, at the end of my presentation I snuck in a couple slides about trends I saw with blogs that really were catching my attention. One is the idea of “the blog is the new resume.”

I’ve been in the position to hire folks a few times. Let me tell you—the process sucks. It sucks for the person looking for the job and it sucks for the person trying to fill the specific need. If only there was a better way to screen applicants. Phone screens help serve as an initial filter, but they still take time and effort to conduct and coordinate. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more than a vague bulleted list of accomplishments before actually picking up the phone to call the person?

There is. There’s blogging.

Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch—to show they can “talk the talk” (as opposed to just fill a resume with buzzwords). I can’t think of a reason for any serious tech professional to not have a blog. Not only does it serve as an excellent notebook for storing ideas and links, but it can come in handy in a job hunt where what interviewers really want to just know what, professionally (and somewhat personally), engages you on a day to day basis. How often do you look at a resume and wonder what exactly the person’s role on a project was? Well, if the person blogged about it then you would have a better idea—and you would know if the role would fit in with your team.

This isn’t just about employees seeking jobs. My team recently bid for some web work. I found out which person at the other company was in a similar role as myself. I looked the person up and found that person’s blog. I read it. I found out what makes that person tick. I made sure to mold my presentation around what I knew was important in a subcontractor to that person.

This isn’t just about individuals having blogs, either. I feel the CogBlog can help attract talent to Aptima. If they can get a better look at the types of issues and ideas folks at Aptima are discussing, they can have a better idea of what type of work they may be doing on a day to day basis. Sometimes it can be hard to get that type of information in an interview. Heck, by leaving comments a candidate can gauge a company’s responses and see if their input is valued.

It seems a lot of tech folks just don’t care enough to blog. What is going to happen soon is that those people will not be able to land the really sweet gigs. Companies will be impressed by blogging candidates, knowing that they take their work seriously enough to document it and share it. Those who don’t blog will have to settle for the lackluster jobs. Maybe this isn’t a bad thing, since the sweet gigs often require a “way of life” attitude towards the work.

The resume just gives you that vague bulleted list. The blog? Well, here I’ve got detailed posts about specific project tasks, detailed posts about my thoughts on industry trends, documented experiences, photos and mockups, case studies, links to Technorati and LinkedIn profiles, a list of must-read blogs, my public bookmarks, links to what others are saying about me, home movies, etc., etc., etc…

Update: Wow, Joshua picked this up and it generated a lot of discussion. I have published a lot of the discussion on a new post.

166 Comments

[...] Apparently, some prospective employers go as far as to “google” your name and see what turns up. I’m sure that would be bad news for a lot of folks. On the other hand, it could be a very positive thing. Just think, your blog could be like an ongoing resume, keeping up with your accomplishments in real time. Adam Darowski says: Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch‚Äîto show they can ‚Äútalk the talk‚Äù (as opposed to just fill a resume with buzzwords). I can‚Äôt think of a reason for any serious tech professional to not have a blog. Not only does it serve as an excellent notebook for storing ideas and links, but it can come in handy in a job hunt where what interviewers really want to just know what, professionally (and somewhat personally), engages you on a day to day basis. [...]

[...] April 19th, 2007 I’ve just come across this interesting observation from Adam Darowski (and picked up by Joshua Porter here.) Darowski opines that you’re no-one in the tech world if you haven’t got a blog. And that reading a person’s blog is a far better way of getting to know their skills and attitude than reading a buzzword-stuffed resume. Equally, what better way to find out what makes a potential new client tick than reading his or her blog? [...]

As I commented on Bokardo, I wrote about this quite a while ago, with a slightly different angle, calling my post My Google Resume.

I think another point to make is how important a blog is for demonstrating one’s ability to communicate clearly and articulately — and to think critically. In some senses, folks who are better at code should let their source do the talking for them, whereas those who have a way with words should probably focus more on blogging.

I know that I use pictures to great effect — but talking about them in my blog is currently the only way for people to find them (since indexing photos and screenshots still doesn’t work so well). In any case — great post!

[...] Today, I came across a few interesting posts about the value of your online identity. First is the Bokardo blog, which was riffing on a post entitled “The Blog is the New Resume.” Bokardo writes: Your blog represents you. Represent! Your blog is speaking for you‚Ä¶to folks who might not know anything about you. Is it saying the right thing? is it saying the same thing you would say if you met someone for the first time? [...]

[...] For me this is a question that has been floating around for a number of years, for others it is just coming to the fore front. Take today, Techmeme, it is a topic on the front page, based on a post from Adam Darowski. [...]

[...] Josh Porter at Bokardo and Adam Darowski at Traces of Inspiration are putting forth the notion that the blog is the new resum&eacute;.¬† I couldn’t agree more.¬† Today, if you are blogging anything at all to do with your work, profession or your skills it’s all discoverable online.¬† And easily so. [...]

I’m a headhunter and like this is so wrong but I don’t have time to explain it now. I’ll be baaack and do the job then. I just want everyone to know that LinkedIn is a better way to establish an online presence for 99% of the population. Are there 200 million blogs in the world? If so, 199 million of them are abandoned after a dozen postings. Therein lies the entire story.

I’m interested to see the followup. If you don’t keep up with the blog, yank the site. Otherwise, to me at least, you look like someone who starts with good intentions but can’t keep up with something. Of course, every case is different and it will depend on the type of blog and the content that IS there (what is your last post…a “I’m too busy right now” post?).

This is great. Obviously, the blogging doesn‚Äôt work for everyone. Basically, blogging should be done by the people it will actually benefit‚Äîthose with good communication skills, some creativity in their writing, a passion to actually keep up with it, etc.

[...] Adam Darowski tells us that The Blog is the New Resume. ¬† (hat tip to Bijan Sabet for pointing to that post)¬† I do get a bit surprised when someone asks to see my resume.¬† I think it’s so obsolete.¬† I don’t believe that it necessarily has to be a blog, but creating a web presence seems to me a more effective way of showing potential employers, business partners, or investors who you are and what you’ve done. [...]

Hey, you guys, I’m back. Again, I’m a headhunter and I’ve been blogging almost every working day for the last three years. And I was a partner in the central Recruiting blog, Recruiting.com.

I’ve heard that there are about 300 blogs in the Recruitosphere but I’m sure that more than half of them have been abandoned. Because it’s just too much work to maintain on a regular basis.

So, when I see all sorts of career advisors tell people (who usually can’t even write a resume) to write a blog, it’s a complete laugh.

It might be possible for someone who is out of work and has time on his hands but I’m talking
about people who maintain a blog while they work as their ongoing profile.

I’d say that this suits about 1% of the population. Maybe more among the IT among IT and marketing people because it touches upon their own professional specialties.

I had to cut my visit short this morning because I was speaking to a group of job hunters about blogging. I told them what I think and added that if they want to try it they might want to do filter blogging, surfing the net for articles they find interesting and, essentially, bookmarking them with an excerpt for other people.

I’m glad to see you came back because you offer another perspective. I appreciate your input.

I‚Äôve heard that there are about 300 blogs in the Recruitosphere but I‚Äôm sure that more than half of them have been abandoned. Because it‚Äôs just too much work to maintain on a regular basis.

So, when I see all sorts of career advisors tell people (who usually can‚Äôt even write a resume) to write a blog, it‚Äôs a complete laugh.

Well, it’s not a complete laugh, in my opinion. The fact that most people won’t keep up with it just means the cream rises up to the top. The blog then becomes a good way to filter candidates by those who CAN write; those who CAN stay dedicated to a project; those who CAN provide compelling content.

It might be possible for someone who is out of work and has time on his hands but I‚Äôm talking about people who maintain a blog while they work as their ongoing profile.

Check out the top blogs at Technorati. Those people are not unemployed. My blog is by no means one of the popular ones. But it serves its purpose. I’ve got a full time job, side work, kids, family, etc. If you take yourself seriously, you find a way to work it in.

And that’s the point. Those who don’t will be at a disadvantage. Hiring managers will say… “Okay, why does this person Not have a blog? Is it because (1) they have nothing to say?; (2) they can’t communicate?; or (3) they can’t be bothered?”

I‚Äôd say that this suits about 1% of the population.

A lot of companies out there only want to hire the top 1%. I know I do. Blogging will not help the mediocre talent get a job.

I told them what I think and added that if they want to try it they might want to do filter blogging, surfing the net for articles they find interesting and, essentially, bookmarking them with an excerpt for other people.

This is a somewhat easier yet still wortwhile way to create content.

Easier, yes. More worthwhile? That’s debatable. More worthwhile than doing nothing? Sure. More worthwhile than sharing original thoughts that will mean something to an employer? Nope.

Posting a series of links you’ve read is too much like listing a series of applications you know on your resume. Good. You know it. But what do you DO with it? That’s what I want to know.

Yes, I most definitely concede your point that it is only for the top talent. The fact that they have the writing skills and ideas and see enough value to take the time to do it is what makes them the best. Thanks for giving this perspective. It certainly raised some important points!

In my experience I have had more positive feedback about my blog in interviews and during the job seeking process (even if my freshest post was a few weeks old), than negative feedback. Even if you don’t post more than a few times a month at the very least a blog is a way to demonstrate your communication skills and writing ability. Furthermore, it is a way for an employer to get a snapshot of your personality.

A recruiter will discourage you from blogging because it chips away at their job function. They want to be the one to convey your skills and strengths to the employer. They want to be the ones to paint the entire picture of who a potential employee is to the employer no matter if it is completely wrong or not. Recruiters will tell you to do things that will put them in a place of power when it comes to your job placement.

A combination of LinkedIn, a personal blog, and good networking skills may allow you to circumvent recruiters altogether in some situations. LinkedIn allows you to keep tabs on the people you have business and personal relationships with and leverage those connections to network and to seek jobs. Isn’t that what a Recruiter does anyway? I know they do other things like negotiate benefits and salaries as well that are beneficial to all, but if you know your market value and you have a solid history of work experience, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out what kind of salary you should be able to request from future employers. If you’re not going for a high end management position or an executive position, the value of a recruiter is dimished when you have tools like LinkedIn, blogs, and the ability to market yourself.

A recruiter will discourage you from blogging because it chips away at their job function. They want to be the one to convey your skills and strengths to the employer. They want to be the ones to paint the entire picture of who a potential employee is to the employer no matter if it is completely wrong or not. Recruiters will tell you to do things that will put them in a place of power when it comes to your job placement.

I had not even thought of that, mostly because I don’t have much experience dealing with recruiters. I guess since they are really trying to make a “sale”, they want to paint the product as they please. Very interesting perspective and yet another need for a tech professional to have a blog.

“A recruiter will discourage you from blogging because it chips away at their job function.”

Adam, there’s a reason you never thought of it. Because it’s nonsense.

I wish all of the people I needed had blogs. Then it would be easier for me to find them. Trust me, my clients have never heard of blogs so they wouldn’t be able to do so themselves. I keep thinking that LinkedIn is going to rob me of a living but most job hunters have never heard of it.

A Canadian Recruiter, David Perry, has written a great job hunting book called Guerrilla Marketing For Job Hunters (www.gm4jh.com) in which he provides a very good and detailed guide to the creation of an online presence.

When people call me for career advice I beg them to buy it. I’m sure that very few do. Even those copies I give away are very rarely cracked open.

Sorry to insult you justelise, you might be a great person, but how about telling us where you get your information.

Exactly! A recruiter is simply a sales person and they don’t work for you the potential employee they work for the employers and for their commissions. Essentially 90% of the recruiters I have worked with have gone through great lengths to collect information about me but when it comes to finding about my personality and what I like or dislike in a position, no matter what I tell them they are simply trying to get a warm body into a position. They ultimately aren’t worried about your job satisfaction.

@Recruiting Animal
You asked me about where I get my information and truth be told all of it is from my personal experience and that of close friends and relatives. We have, collectively, been pushed around and taken advantage of by the vast majority of recruiters. There are very few exceptions and in fact I can name five or ten recruiters who are excellent people who I go to again and again because they are honest and place people in jobs that they know they will have long-term happiness and success in. Most recruiters are worried about getting a body to fill a slot and getting paid for that especially when they work for commissions. Every recruiter is a sales person unless their organization they work for is a non-profit (which I’ve yet to see exist). Just like the employer, the recruiter is most concerned with their bottom line. You cannot tell me I’m wrong because all I am doing is conveying my experiences.

Here’s what I think. Recruiting Animal made generalizations about candidates not having the chops to blog. justelise made generalizations about recruiters that only care about making the quick placement, regardless of what is best. You are probably both very right‚Äîbut neither of you are talking about each other. You are in the vast minority‚Äîthe people that care enough about your profession to blog, share, and take part in conversations in your spare time.

[...] There has been quite a bit of discussion in the blogosphere over the last fortnight about the blog as the new CV. It was started by a post by Adam Darowski, The Blog is the New Resume and subsequently picked up by Joshua Porter, who expanded upon the idea. [...]

[...] read more | digg story This was written by Shaine Mata. Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007, at 10:24 pm. Filed under Life. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback. [...]

[...] Blogging is the new C.V. – Adam Darowskie sees ‚Äòthe blog as being the new resume‚Äô and I have to agree. It provides a great way of letting your clients and prospects know who you are. Apart from showcasing your business, it also demonstrates a real passion for what you do. [...]

Adam, There are a lot of auditors around. But try to find an audit blog. The fact that there are so few professional blogs surely indicates something about their viability as resume substitutes. So I don’t think I’m just spouting off “generalizations”.

I read a lot of resumes so when I tell you that most people are not good writers, I’m not just spouting off. Even if I’m not giving you any stats.

I asked Lisa (who has an interesting blog) where she got her info about recruiters not wanting people to have professional blogs. It’s obvious now that she just made this up based on her image of recruiters as selfish hustlers.

I’m a recruiter who reads a lot of recruiting blogs and I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing. Moreover, I interviewed Tony Haley from England last Wednesday about sales in recruiting and he sure doesn’t sound like anyone Lisa’s been describing although he does admit that such people exist. (www.recruitinganimalshow.com)

I don’t know if you were referring to me when you use the name “Lisa” but I did not see any other comments left by anyone named Lisa in this thread. Working on the assumption that you were indeed referring to me, my name is Elise.

You continue to use language like “made up” and “nonsense” to describe my real experience with recruiters. I have had recruiters tell me and friends of mine to take their blogs and personal web sites off of their resumes because they “wanted to have control of the image of me that was portrayed to the client.” That’s a quote from a recruiter! They fully admitted that they wanted to have full control of how I was portrayed to their client. Essentially they wanted the power to mold my image into anything the client wanted regardless of how I felt about it. There is nothing nonsensical or contrived about what I have said because I lived it. As I said the vast majority of recruiters I met are smarmy salespeople. Many of my friends have had similar experiences and some have excluded recruiters and job placement agencies from their job searches completely. I just want to remind you, however, that I did go out of my way to point out that I have met some really good recruiters who I go to when I need placement or resume assistance.

Just because you don’t see things from my perspective (because you’ve probably spent very little time on the other side of the recruiting table), does not give you the right to discredit my experiences and opinions by trying to lead readers to believe that what I am saying is nonsense and made up. It’s in poor taste and it makes you look like a spin doctor. You should agree to disagree before you attempt to discredit people with opposing viewpoints by claiming that their experiences are not real.

[...] Adam Darowski: The Blog is the New Resume – “It seems a lot of tech folks just don‚Äôt care enough to blog. What is going to happen soon is that those people will not be able to land the really sweet gigs. Companies will be impressed by blogging candidates, knowing that they take their work seriously enough to document it and share it. Those who don‚Äôt blog will have to settle for the lackluster jobs.“ [...]

In certain industries it is not kosher to speak of your current work – or even you old work. I know several people who have worked on DoD contracts and they are under National Security orders to not speak of these.

Let’s see, the really, really good techies are so busy they barely have time for their own lives let alone a professional blog. I know, I’m married to one. Everyone of any importance in his field knows him and knows how busy he is. He has no issues with keeping work. Keeping up with all of his work, but not keeping work.

There are also people who value privacy very highly and would be appalled at the very idea of blogging “professionally”.

I read medical blogs, by necessity, these individuals cannot reveal who they are, or, even, many details of where they are. There are laws that cover some people.

As someone involved who knows real business people, I can say that they don’t want their people blogging about the projects they are working on. This is a great way for your competitor to gather competitive intelligence on you.

No, there are many very good reasons not to have a “professional” blog.

Of course you have be careful with corporate policy. There are ways to avoid giving away company secrets. This is how hundreds of companies are blogging now. They educate their employees about what is okay and what is not. Some monitor all posts before they go out. My company, actually, does not. We have a few trusted employees with corporate blogging accounts. They can write and post something live in minutes. It has to do with trust.

This needs to also be considered when the employee is posting to their personal blog. I speak of ideas I’ve had for current projects in very general terms. I focus on the problem, not the domain or specific application of the problem. Usually the question I’m dealing with is a higher level issue that can be debated. I do most of my work for the DoD, too. I keep it high level. That, and many of my questions raised are through personal research not attached to projects at my day job.

And yes… my web design superhero Dan Cederholm blogs much less now. Why? He’s very successful. He doesn’t need to. He does a bit here and there because he likes to do it and wishes he could more. But how did he get to that level? His blog, his articles, and his books. Blogging is a great way to reach that goal, and then you may not have the time.

“People who value privacy very highly”… well… it’s not for them, that’s for sure. But you CAN keep it about business.

Re: the medical blogs… even if they can’t reveal who they are, they are giving you benefit. And in the medical field, you can certainly blog about the field itself and leave out specifics (Paul Levy, CEO of Beth-Israel Deaconess, is doing it and giving people fits).

As someone involved who knows real business people, I can say that they don‚Äôt want their people blogging about the projects they are working on. This is a great way for your competitor to gather competitive intelligence on you.

I’d like to say I’m “involved” and know “real world business people”. Heck, I even have a real job. There are ways around this both on the corporate level and personal level. You don’t HAVE to give the farm away.

There are two key stumbling blocks facing “non-verbal” people. First, many subject-matter experts need considerable help organizing their thoughts and ideas into readable prose. Second, time is another factor. Clearly, blogging works best when you take people on a journey through different sites and ideas – and not many subject-matter experts have the time or inclination to go scouting for resources on the web. On the other hand, blogging is a lot easier to get into than writing more formal articles, and I would encourage everyone to try it, at least by contributing to someone else’s blog at first.

[...] The best part about coming late to a conversation in the blogosphere is that by the time you get there, your main points have already been made, often better than you could have. While putting a post together last night, I came across a recent post from Joshua Porter entitled “The Blog is the New Resume“. Joshua was referencing a great post by Adam Darowski with the same title. Adam has an extensive followup to his post that collects a lot of the past and present discussion around this subject. [...]

Sorry about your name. “justelise” looks French to me so I would have been better off calling you “Lise” and might have if I’d been sure that was a name. Mind you, I am aware that Annaliese is a name because I once met a nice girl who had it. But you know, she almost married a not nice guy. Which only goes to show that just like husbands are like recruiters; they’re not all nice.

And I’m sorry about assuming that no recruiter had ever told you and your friends to take down your blogs. This sounds so unbelievable and rare to me that I would love to get more details.

In fact, as mentioned, I run The Recruiting Animal Show (www.recruitinganimalshow.com). And I’d like to invite you to be a guest and have you tell me and the recruiters who call in about your experience. It would be great if the friends and family you refer to would call in too.

In fact it’s a call-in show so anyone is welcome. Elise, just tell me the date that is best for you. It’s usually on Wednesdays at NOON EST.

[...] Posted by Sean on April 28th, 2007 Read an article on Traces Of Inspiration, that talked about how the blog is serving as a potential hiring tool. This is kind of an extension of the Online Persona that i have been talking about, but instead of doing it in multiple places like I am, the author seems to think that the blog should contain it all. [...]

“The Blog is the new resume” discussion has brought up some great points that focus on the IT Pro, the recruiter perspective and, to a lesser degree, the corporate viewpoint — not much from the HR Manager or Hiring Agent standpoint. While some of you secure jobs by getting recruited, lots of people still respond to a vacancy. If it takes time for you to keep up a decent blog, then imagine the overworked Hiring Agent having to weed through e-mails and stacks of resumes. Unless you make it to the top third of the pile, you haven’t got a chance anyway. It still comes down to getting the attention of the decision-maker first, and, most of the decision-makers that I know (as someone who has written professional resumes for years and helped clients find jobs), would not have time to read through a blog. Furthermore, as previously eluded to, seeing a blog listed on a resume could put up some red flags for a lot of employers. Don’t laugh…one of those flags has to do with ego. One of the things I know that hiring agents look for is someone who will fit with the team and not become an ego problem. Even if you are an excellent candidate, great blogger with amazing credentials, you could be perceived as “too much to touch.” That having been said, perhaps it comes down to doing a good job of knowing the company where you wish employment, then gearing your approach to get their attention and mentioning the blog in a “cover” as a reference,(not highlighting it as a credential) if you determine it to be wise to mention. I’ve had clients “Google” me before they hired me, so I can see some value of having a blog in a private business situation. But, I don’t see a blog ever completely taking the place of a professionally prepared resume. Corporate structure is too attracted to and comfortable with uniformity.

most of the decision-makers that I know … would not have time to read through a blog

The post was intended for the elite talent seeking the elite jobs. I think any company REALLY looking for REALLY good tech talent‚Äîcompanies who they themselves “get it”‚Äîwill appreciate the info from a blog. This post certainly isn’t intended for the jobs where employers are only interested in weeding through a stack of resumes, looking for certain keywords.

Since opinion is what makes the world go round and because I do “people networking” for a living, thought I’d ask an IT guy in my network for his thoughts on this subject. Mike started his IT biz young, sold it for a bloody fortune and was recruited by a company for another bloody fortunte. His take: “Blogs are certainly a smart way of putting your information out there but from an employer perspective, they would have to visit each candidates blog to find the right person to interview which could be very timely. They could use things like RSS feeds (a way of aggregating updates from blogs, etc. into one view – but they would still have to find these sources). Hmmn – theme sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But wait…when Mike e-mailed me his answer, he cc’d a couple of his buddies in the biz and asked them to weigh in. Aaron said, “I don’t think a blog is a replacement for a resume, but it’s one of the best companions out there. I know more then a few bloggers who have had doors open to them based on their blog. Opportunities seem to find bloggers since their readers end up respecting them, and as they need to hire, will turn to bloggers they know first. I’ve also seen bloggers out and out ask for a job on their blog, and get very good responses. When hiring, I won’t read the blogs of all of the candidates. I will give a blog a once over before an interview for conversation during the interview, and if they perform well in the face to face I’ll dig very deep into the blog, which could be either a blessing or a curse to the candidate. It’s timely, true, but hiring the wrong geek will cost you much more time, and having an additional avenue for due diligence is great. Candidates also get points just for having a blog in my book, since it is usually a sign of a passionate geek. So having a bad blog may put a candidate ahead of one without a blog in my book.” There you have it — two guys –somewhat different thoughts, but interesting comments. Sorry for the length of all of this, but thought you’d like to see what they had to say. By the way, Adam, the inquiry reminded Aaron to get back to blogging. Perhaps he should visit yours.

It‚Äôs timely, true, but hiring the wrong geek will cost you much more time, and having an additional avenue for due diligence is great. Candidates also get points just for having a blog in my book, since it is usually a sign of a passionate geek.

I don’t buy the “it takes too much time” approach. I know whenever I’m in the position to add to my team, I am ridiculously meticulous about it. This is a huge decision‚Äîthough may be this is because I tend to work in small teams so it stands out more.

[...] Joshua Porter’s blog, in which he explores the subject quite capably, along with links to his orginal source of inspiration for the post.¬† The original source and comments are worth the read as well.¬†¬† [...]

[...] Today I came across a very interesting blog post that hit the spot exactly with what I was starting to realize about blogging. It was a post by Joshua Porter titled The Blog is the New Resume, which was actually adapted from a post by Adam Darowski by the same title. [...]

[...] In fact the results were so astounding that it wasn’t long before I was strongly recommending that every client considered a personal blog. Darowski says that ‘Blogging is the perfect way to give an employer a detailed sales pitch .. to show they can ta… [...]

[...] Blog is the new resume. The most straightforward way to showcase your wares is through a blog. Mixed with your experiences as a professional (or maybe you prefer “independent worker”) as well as your personal life, potential clients, fans, and friends will be delighted to find you have a blog. [...]

[...] Adam Darowski says that his blog helped him land his current job and Joshua Porter of Bokardo simulated a great discussion about blogs as a resume. From the beginning (June 1, 2000), I’ve posted my blog knowing that a future boss or client could read it. This blog was originally a personal blog since I didn’t have my own business yet — just a couple of writing assignments. [...]

[...] to me, and I’ve certainly done my share of it when I had to help hire someone. In many ways, the blog is the new resume. But, how do you know that the results you’re seeing are really about the person you’re [...]

[...] Today I came across a very interesting blog post that hit the spot exactly with what I was starting to realize about blogging. It was a post by Joshua Porter titled The Blog is the New Resume, which was actually adapted from a post by Adam Darowski by the same title. [...]

Resume writing is the primary need of any job seeker. One gets their first impression from their resumes. It plays a major role. For example

¬ß Your resume should be short on words but long on facts.
¬ß It should convey a sense of energy and purpose, reflecting your personality and personal characteristics.
¬ß Your resume must focus on your strengths and abilities.
¬ß It should deflect attention away from areas of your experience or work history that lack vigor or definition.
¬ß Your resume must reveal your work history through effective descriptions of your experience.
¬ß Your resume must be an advocate of your strengths and personal characteristics.
¬ß Your resume should give a flattering and factual representation of your skills.
¬ß It should reflect your worth as a potential employee.
¬ß Present a logically displayed resume that is appealing to the reader in its clarity and presentation.

First time Ive heard about a blog being the new resume but this article is keeping everyone up on their toes. Keep up the good work!

On February 1st, 2008 at 9:51 pm Outtanames999 said:

Um, not to point too fine a point on it or anything, nice theory and all, but this is your blog, so where is your f–ing resume? This is it?

All I ever see on blogs is a million reasons NOT to hire someone. Think your drunk off your ass photos on Facebook.

You don’t have to be a philosopher to ask whether writing for an prospective employer audience, or writing for oneself, is the more appropriate purpose of a blog. Did you write a diary in elementary school? Can I see that, too before I hire you?

Get real. Keep your blog away from your employer and send a resume instead. If you want to post your resume on your web site, or even dedicate an entire domain name to it, go ahead. But enough with the blog business, ‘k?

@ Outtanames999 ‚Äì As the person who initially interviewed Adam about a year ago and highly recommended that he be hired at BatchBlue, I can say that his blog definitely played a huge part in his application materials. Through his blog, he demonstrated his writing skills, revealed areas of special interest, proved he‚Äôs an active participant in social media and that he has an interesting life outside of work. Exactly what we were looking for and he couldn‚Äôt be a better fit. You can read our president‚Äôs take on hiring Adam on our blog.

I think the issue is that how and what you present to your future employers is evolving. There is far more to one‚Äôs on-line self than drunk party pictures, and a blog can just as easily be a tool for furthering your career as a personal journal.

The reality is that employers are going to Google you. Make sure you know what is going to be on that search results page and that it accurately represents you. And if you keep a blog, make it one worth reading.

Get real. Keep your blog away from your employer and send a resume instead. If you want to post your resume on your web site, or even dedicate an entire domain name to it, go ahead. But enough with the blog business, ‚Äòk?

I’m not sure what your line of business is, but for mine, having an online presence is imperative. As Michelle said above, it got me my job.

I mean, what’s really the problem with providing this extra info for an employer? I can say “web standards” is one of my skills on my resume. But a search on my blog can show exactly what I’ve done with web standards.

A blog is a competitive edge for a candidate. I’ve been on both sides of it. I’ve gotten job offers because of my blog. And I’ve read hundreds of resumes wishing I had a slight idea of what that candidate was capable of doing.

And regarding where my resume is… I don’t spend much time updating it because it has so little ROI for me. I only update it during job hunts and only email it to those I’m actually going for. In the meantime, here ya go! http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamdarowski

[...] As I graduate the Digital Media program in the Lamar Dodd School of Art at The University Of Georgia, I’m faced with making a portfolio site to contain all/my best work. This comes as a dilemma to me because as much as I’d love to include all my work, I can’t- and also I feel that most, if not all, of my best work is ahead of me- and who wants to make a site that will be outdated very quickly. I’ve had a personal blog for some time now, and I figured that the blog database approach would solve my issues. Blogs have their own organization so I don’t have to redesign my ‘drawings’ page every time I want to add a drawing to the mix. Plus a blog is dynamic and therefore easy to update, so it’s always fresh. And blogs have themes and templates so changing the whole front end look isn’t like starting from scratch. So rather than make a site with pages and organize a portfolio by content types, I’m using the idea of tags. Many projects I work on become involved in multiple categories or encompass many different ideas simultaneously, or even no ides… I’ll be using tags to let things overlap where they may. A blog also is fluid and evolves over time, I’m just graduating- how do I know what I’ll be focusing on a year from now, or even a few months. And my last, but perhaps most interesting point about blogs, The Blog is the New Resume. [...]

[...] on 5 steps to let your dream job find you, following Adam Darowski’s recent post on how the blog is the new resume. I still believe that your online identity is an amalgamation of your search engine results: First [...]

[...] over the last fortnight about the blog as the new CV. It was started by a post by Adam Darowski, The Blog is the New Resume and subsequently picked up by Joshua Porter, who expanded upon the [...]

[...] The LinkedIn PDF Button is the New Resume – Another post supporting my theory of the impending extinction of MS Word resumes. The best line: Finally, after many years of wondering how to go about that, an opportunity to dabble on the side has presented itself. The first step was to hand off a resume. Hrm. I don‚Äôt even keep a resume anymore. I mean, how can I? I‚Äôm the blog is the resume guy. [...]

[...] can work. Blogger (and occasional interviewer) Adam Dorowski’s suggestion that the blog is the new resume isn’t empty Web 2.0 hype. You can’t just send the permalinks along to your prospective [...]

This was an interesting read, as I have never really thought of having a blog represent you like a resume does. Sure, this method is great for online jobs, but you still need a hard copy resume for the positions that do not require a computer!

[...] that your potential employers can look at to get an idea of who you are. I’ve even read that blogs are the new resumes, although I wouldn’t go that far just yet. The main reason I’m maintaining OSZen is to [...]

[...] of this blog, may recall the blog discussion I had with Adam Darowski on exactly this topic almost 20 months ago – Your blog is your resume. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead. Prove your [...]

[...] that your potential employers can look at to get an idea of who you are. I’ve even read that blogs are the new resumes, although I wouldn’t go that far just yet. The main reason I’m maintaining OSZen is to [...]

[...] that your potential employers can look at to get an idea of who you are. I’ve even read that blogs are the new resumes, although I wouldn’t go that far just yet. The main reason I’m maintaining OSZen is to [...]

[...] serve existing customers. Professionals blog to share ideas or as a revealing resume. Adam Darowski writes: Blogging is the perfect way for a candidate to give an employer a more detailed sales pitch-to [...]

[...] that your potential employers can look at to get an idea of who you are. I’ve even read that blogs are the new resumes, although I wouldn’t go that far just yet. The main reason I’m maintaining OSZen is to [...]

Definitely the blog is a resume, but it is more of a social resume which is not considered for most of the jobs. Visit Effective Resume for more details on how to make a resume and what are the factors considered by recruiters. The site has been developed by Nidhi Jain of HR Practice, who has long experience in recruitment Industry.

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

On February 21st, 2009 at 8:40 pm Jason said:

I googled “online presence resume blog” (without the quotes) and your site was the best one I came up with.

In my view, a blog does not replace a resume, it enhances it. The reason to have a blog is so that your potential employer can see that you really do know what you are talking about– and know exactly how well you know something. (or at least have a much better idea)

A resume shows that you know how to speak the language of the type of job you are looking for, but the interview and, more especially, a blog shows that you understand how to perform the job, and think.

I’m even thinking that it would be important to have 2 blogs–one personal and one professional. This way a perspective employer can see not only that you know your industry, but to get a little bit of a grip of who you are personally. People are not one-dimensional, so why should an online presence be one dimensional. By sharing information, such as tasteful hobbies, a perspective employer can see that you not lethargic in your spare time. Also, if you are involved with web 2.0 technologies for your hobbies, that would also show that you don’t just give lip service. (i.e. instructables.com, allrecipes.com, etc.)

It may even be worth creating a resume with blue hyperlinks in the document. (less the tacky underlining) Or perhaps have an alternate web version of the document which has links to blog entries, etc.

As Adam stated, this is about finding the best. Don’t just say you are the best, show that you are the best by blogging professionally and personally.

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

On February 21st, 2009 at 10:25 pm Adam Darowski said:

Great comment, Jason. Personally, I think that in most cases the resume is just for filing purposes. You need that “hard file” on someone to put into the system.

To be honest, if someone wants to see a resume from me, I just point them to LinkedIn. It’ll export a PDF resume, plus it is marked up in the hResume microformat.

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

[...] angle for personal branding purposes. I’ve explained how blogging is a great way to create a dynamic resume, demonstrate your area(s) of expertise, and begin networking with some of the leaders in your [...]

On March 28th, 2009 at 7:11 pm RaiulBaztepo said:

Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo

Yes I like that saying! A blog is a online publicly viewable web-log of all your qualifications on a subject. One can become an expert themselves by simply blogging and earn a generous income from doing so. Great article!

[...] replace a salary, but it can help you find a new source of income. Blogger Adam Darowski believes the blog is the new resume, and at least one Lifehacker editor is really glad he built his up to help land a new gig. Write [...]

First of all, great post you have here. I would say that just like businesses who would be foolish to ignore the rising trend of online presence, job seekers or even established professionals should now acknowledge the importance of personal branding. Blogs have that mood for transparency for an individual’s thoughts, expertise, and experience. Employers may still have doubts on referring to blogs in reference to a job seekers qualifications but I’m sure sooner or later, modern management will appreciate blog posts equal, if not more than, a traditional resume.

On April 28th, 2009 at 8:02 pm Adam Darowski said:

I think with smaller, more intimate teams, the blog (and the greater online “brand”) has surpassed the traditional resume. For example, I’m the only person at my small company who even submitted a resume during the hiring process. In many ways, your professional network trumps both online brand and traditional resume.

I’ve finally landed on your post Adam. I’ve read a lot of related blog posts which have a direct reference to this blog post. Excellent and timely article.

I think it would be ignorant for someone to ignore personal branding nowadays especially with the ever growing competition in the job market. I just hope job seekers do it right and it can make wonders. But doing so carelessly could ruin a reputation quickly.

[...] Developer Adam Darowski was one of hundreds (thousands?) of job seekers who have figured out that the blog is the new resume. When I was interviewing with Critical Mass, we discussed my blog in far more detail than any other [...]

I agree that blogging is an excellent “supplement” to a resume. However, how many Recruiters and HR professionals really have time to read each entry and then expertise necessary to assess the credibility of the blogger?

Recruiters are often brought in on the hiring process in order to screen candidates. This is especially true for large corporate employers seeking to fill highly skilled and well compensated positions. Without a resume, how will the recruiter parlay the candidate’s skills and experience to the hiring manager?

This really only works for teams ranging from a few people to a couple hundred. With larger corporations, the hiring process can be very impersonal. I’m really focused on smaller teams that take adding a new employee very seriously. They don’t just scan resumes and have a quick chat before the process. They (we) research the candidates as much as (or more than) the candidates research the company. These are the companies that take the time to look at blog posts and Twitter feeds, review portfolio pieces or open source contributions, and get to know a bit more about the person from their Flickr or Last.fm feeds.

The larger companies that search resumes for keywords? I have absolutely no interest in them—either working for them or writing about them.

I just want to ask can we say that Resume is for the person who has 3 or less years’ experience, and c.v. is for those having masters in their field, generally having more than 3 years of experience. While Bio Data is for freshers.Please reply

@Resume Format: I don’t think you can say that definitively. I’d rather see a CV from a prolific researcher with many articles to cite and a resume and blog from a developer with 12 years of experience.

[...] Developer Adam Darowski was one of hundreds (thousands?) of job seekers who have figured out that the blog is the new resume. When I was interviewing with Critical Mass, we discussed my blog in far more detail than any other [...]

On June 12th, 2010 at 7:07 am Vickie Anderson said:

How to write the best resume and cover letters for entry-level and established jobseekers: free samples & templates of resumes & cover letters.

Interesting…never looked at that way, but I guess it can be used against you also if companies wanted to look into your personality type before they hire you.

On August 10th, 2010 at 4:13 am Chipearth said:

The feeling of freedom that a driver will get from his well-tuned automobile is practically nothing compared to the freedom and thrill a rider will get from his horse. When a rider and his horse work in concert, it truly is like flying. And also you can’t fly if your feet are stuck within the ground. This can be why the proper ride-on boots are so critical. Not just can they enable raise your security while in using, they are able to add flair for your outfit on or off the horse. No matter if you might be searching for English tall riding boots, western boots, paddock boots, or simply the very best leather rideon boots for fashion, there exists an overwhelming variety from which to choose. The correct fit is important, as are the appropriate resources, construction, and, of course, selling price. We’ll take a appear at a number of the ideal ride on boots to have you started.

Which means I have bought a few indy shoes by means of Germany, they can be termed “Reiterstiefel” in that respect there:

My own question: How do i merge those boots by means of the other attire?

I am not sure I complete agree with having using a blog as a resume. While I do see a lot of advantages it can be harmful as well. As a employer I don’t want to have to sit and read a lot of pages to get to know a person, what you need is a quick snap shot of the person and a resume is good for that. Now I would say that a service like LinkedIn can be very helpful though.

REgarding CVs vs resumes vs Bio Data….
These days there is no real difference between a CV and a resume. Its called a resume in the US and Australia, a CV in the UK and NZ. Bio data is a few short paragraphs for inclusion with an article or as an introduction to you as a presenter.

The content of a CV/resume for an academic role will be quite different for the same person applying for a corporate role.

This is a new approach eh? Blog to sell yourself. Sorry for the word to sell yourself but that’s how I see a resume is. It’s like when you registered to a forum site or a community site like Foodista you tend to say something about yourself but hence it’s about food and food related stuff so you must say something about food perhaps. That’s the same thing I guess when you blog to show your employers how you are. You say something related to the field.

Hi each
Do You yearn for glimpse current job? Do you need more monay? Twig a additional, outclass m‚tier and diversity your world. It’s very tranquilly with our entanglement site. Inspection it!praca wroclaw
P.S. Yahoo – the whole shebang relentlessness be status! Google: nothing was undeniably into communal note of the window…oferty pracy wroclaw
Substance of emotion you!praca wroclaw

I really don’t think that a blog should be the new resume. I still think that getting to know a person through an interview is still the best thing to do. I have nothing against people who use their blog as their resume. In fact it can help them make a good impression on their employers. Since some employers google their applicants just to know them better. If your blog contains good post, then that should be good news for you. But if you’ve posted some negative things, things that the employer might not like, then that would be a problem for you.

Pretty awesome submit. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have genuinely favored reading your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I desire you post once more soon!

I want to convey my respect for your kind-heartedness in support of men who absolutely need help on in this situation. Your special dedication to passing the solution throughout ended up being definitely interesting and have without exception permitted guys and women just like me to reach their dreams. Your amazing interesting facts indicates this much to me and still more to my peers. Thanks a lot; from each one of us.

Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

In the grand design of things you actually get a B+ for effort. Where you actually lost me personally was on the details. You know, people say, details make or break the argument.. And it couldn’t be more accurate in this article. Having said that, let me say to you what exactly did deliver the results. The article (parts of it) can be highly convincing and this is probably why I am taking an effort to comment. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. Next, although I can see a jumps in reasoning you come up with, I am definitely not certain of how you appear to connect your details which in turn make your final result. For now I will yield to your issue however wish in the future you link your dots much better.

I have nothing against people who use their blog as their resume. In fact it can help them make a good impression on their employers. Since some employers google their applicants just to know them better.